


Black Rings, Gold Hearts, and Silver Necklaces

by Moonlightdragondc



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Character, Asexual Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Asexual Relationship, Asexuality Spectrum, Eventual Romance, F/M, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Neighbors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28555176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlightdragondc/pseuds/Moonlightdragondc
Summary: Charlotte Ella Writhe (Charlie for short) moves to Japan from The Netherlands after an event she doesn't talk about.She wanted to be as far away from her problems as possible.She was lost, and she didn't know who she was anymore, and that scared her.She thought it was far enough, it was...but new problems are on the horizon.Though maybe she can some hope in her new friends and neighbors.She doesn't know what to make of her clean freak next-door neighbor though, as he seems as lost as her.Maybe they can find each other?
Relationships: Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	Black Rings, Gold Hearts, and Silver Necklaces

**Author's Note:**

> This story came to me not long after my coming out as asexual, though don't worry, it's not going to take over the story.  
> I don't own any characters besides Charlie and her family  
> "...": talking  
> '...': thinking  
> (The characters talk in mainly Japanese unless told otherwise)

It was 11:30, Friday the 9th of September.  
It was raining softly, and the sun was shining through the clouds, though oddly there were no rainbows to be seen.  
A girl with medium length dark brown hair and a blond streak next to her face exited an airport with multiple bags carried by almost her entire body, though she was fatigued from her long flight and was barely holding onto her bags. She started walking to the nearest bench which was wet from the rain, but she didn't care.  
She almost made it but unfortunately, her phone starts ringing as she drops half her bags at the sound. She seems a bit angry till she sees whos calling her and immediately calms down a bit.  
She gently puts down the other half of the bags and takes the phone out of the pocket of her purple hoody.

"Hey, I thought I would call you when I got to the apartment...No, no troubles, just the usual baby crying, and loud snoring, but otherwise great...Yeah well love you, Mom, I'll call you later...no mom, I just arrived in Japan...I'm hanging up now, bye...*bleep* She shouldn't be worrying, I'm 25 for gosh sake." The girl says as she rubs her head.  
She had her phone in her hand anyway and she decides to call a taxi.  
She is not going on a bus or train with all this luggage she thinks to herself.  
She started imagining herself as one of those Mexican donkeys with bags on their back in the middle of the bus.  
"Charming the things you think of in your mind me, must be sleep drunk from the jet lag." She mumbles to herself trying not to laugh at her lame joke.  
After a few minutes, her taxi arrived and she grabbed her bags and entered the taxi, going to her new home.

*********

After another 3 hours, she arrived.  
"Thank you *hands money* Keep the change." She says before the taxi left.  
She looked up at the small flat, it had 1 ground floor with 1 upper floor above that with 5 apartments on each floor, hers was on the top floor on the far left.  
An old woman lived there previously, but she went to live with her daughter due to memory problems, or something like that.  
But what made it stand out was that on the bottom right there was an apartment that looked like a normal house with a garden and everything. It made it look like the apartment was built around an already existing house.  
In the garden, there were various gnomes with...weird faces, and a little patch that seems to be used for growing edible plants.  
"That must be the Landlady's apartment," She thinks out loud and walks towards the door.

She rings the doorbell and immediately afterward she hears breaking glass and running before the door opens.  
There, by the door, stands a woman with glasses and hair up in a messy ponytail.  
Her clothes were ragged and messy but oddly smelled like lemon indicating they were clean or at least dumped in cleaning products...probably the latter.

"Hi! You must be the new owner of apartment 2-1, Charlotte E. Writhe, right? A pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm the Landlady Hange Zoe, but Hange is fine!" Hange says and excitedly shakes her hand.  
"Uh, Hey...uh Hange, you can call me Charlie then." Charlie says a bit surprised but trying to stay friendly. She thought that saying first names are reserved for friends in Japan, but considering the name Zoe, she might not be from here? Charlie shrugged it off, not wanting to stand there like an idiot.  
"Ok Charlie, Oh are those your bags? Let me help you." Hange says before grabbing half of the bags before Charlie can protest.  
"Thank you, though I would have managed. I've been stuck in a plane for hours so the exercise is good for me." She says, feeling partly guilty, but also secretly relieved.  
"No need to feel guilty. I'm not just your Landlady now. We are neighbors now and we help each other!" she says before going up the stairs to Charlie's new apartment.  
Charlie feels a bit happy hearing that and grabs the rest of the bags and goes up after Hange.  
When she gets there Hange already opened the door and puts down the bags. Charlie puts the other bags down as well and sighs relief that she's almost done for the day.  
"Phew, You had to lug these all day? You probably need rest. I wanted to chat, but we have all the time in the world now new neighbor! There is a spare Futon in the closet, and there is a rice cooker in the kitchen, consider it a welcome gift. Also, if you need to buy anything there is a small supermarket a few streets further, and a cafe near there as well, both run by a lovely trio!" Hange says before handing Charlie the keys and a note with the supermarket address and leaving as fast as she came leaving her standing in the nearly empty room.

A smile slowly appears on her face as she looks at the keys.  
"My new place...MY new HOME...Mine..."  
She puts the keys on a keychain of a little chibi of Eevee she got from her friend back in The Netherlands and the note in her pocket.  
"But here comes the hard part." She looks at the clock on her phone showing it was 13:34  
"Finding food in the concrete jungle...Yep...sleep drunk, good thing I'm not much of a sleeper." She says dramatically to herself.

She grabs her small shoulder bag and goes outside, locking the door with her keys, but as she turns she sees a man next to her.

He had short black hair and even though he wasn't fully facing her she could see he had steely grey eyes that could kill you with a look.  
His clothes looked neat and professional despite it just being a simple blouse and pants, but what got Charlie's attention was the simple necklace with what looked like wings hanging from it.  
Charlie saw immediately that it was made with love and care and wondered if he made it and if not who, cause it wasn't just something you buy in a store. It wasn't the greatest quality, but that's how you know.  
You see her grandmother used to make jewelry and Charlie used to watch her make some beautiful things whenever she visited her shop. She may not know how to make jewelry, but she has acquired an eye for it.  
She felt eyes on her and looked up.

Their eyes met.

The man turned his head away and starts opening the apartment door.  
"Tch" was all the man said before entering his apartment and closing the door behind him.

'He must be my next-door neighbor. He seems like the opposite of Hange, cold and distant' Charlie thinks before going down the stairs towards the store Hange mentioned.  
On the way, she looked around looking at how different japan was compared to home.  
The buildings were more sleek and new compared to the more old-style buildings she was used to, and of course, it was clear she was an out of place western in a sea of mostly Asians.

"I wanted to live somewhere new and different, and I got exactly that. I just hope I made the right decision to move so far though...no I needed this!"  
Charlie says clenching her fist and putting it over her heart. She whispers something inaudible before lowering her fist and putting her hand in her pocket and taking out the note.  
"Enough sulking." She says now full of determination and energy before she starts speed walking to the store.  
Thanks to that boost she arrived in less than a minute and looks up at the store.  
She enters and immediately sees a brown-haired boy about 16 years of age picking up chips and candy bars from the ground and putting them back on the shelf while grumbling some...not so nice words.

"Stupid Horse face...Hannes will of course blame me, but that little s**t started it!"  
Upon her entering the door made a *Bling!* sound and the boy started turning towards Charlie.

"Horse face is that you?! I tell you again to shove that attitude in your-" the boy started saying but realizes it wasn't who he thought it was.  
"OH, MAN! I'm so sorry miss, I wasn't talking about you, please forgive me!" the boy said bowing so much he looked like a ragdoll.  
"That's alright, it looks like you are having a bad day. You are only human after all..." Charlie pauses and looks at the boy's Nametag "Eren Jeager, what did the person do that those words were actually for?"  
The boy seemed surprised that this stranger forgave him so quickly and on top of that also showed concern and worry.

"Jean Kirstein...he is a classmate, we have differing opinions and an insufferable attitude when anyone disagrees with him. But recently he started messing with me at work thinking I can't fight back..." Eren explains vaguely pointing at the mess of chips and candy on the ground still behind him.  
"But you did. You were lucky Hannes wasn't here, but Mikasa was in the back with the supplies." a boy with blond hair about the same age as Eren said from behind the cash register.  
"She would have made it worse Armin, Me having to be protected by a girl like I'm a little kid..." Eren replied to the blond boy.  
"Eren, am I hearing correctly, did you and Jean fight again? You should have told me, supplies could have waited." A girl with black hair said emerging from the back door walking towards Eren.  
"I'm fine Mikasa. I don't need you protecting me all the time! Anyway, now is not the time. We have a customer" Eren said to the girl before pointing at Charlie.  
"My apologies for Eren Jeager Miss. I hope he wasn't too much of a bother to your shopping experience." The girl said super professionally bowing to Charlie while Eren grumbled something to himself.

"That's okay." He already apologized. "Besides, it's no trouble at all. Honestly hearing what happened is understandable why you did what you did." Charlie says not used to all the bowing. She knew the Japanese were formal but seeing it was different than she expected.  
She quickly looked at the blond boy's and black haired girl's name tags.  
Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert.  
'...What's with these German names. I know the neighborhood I'm living in is popular with immigrants, but this is weird. I came here so that I had nothing hinting towards home....do I have to think of moving further?' Charlie thinks while a visible sweat of confusion was on her face.

She grabbed a shopping cart as she says awkwardly: "Well, I'll do what I came here to do and you do your thing."  
The trio took that as their sign to go back to work. Mikasa went back to...the back, Armin decided to Organize the cash register, and Eren cleaned the last few chips and candy bars that were on the ground before he grabbed a broom and started sweeping.  
Charlie began grabbing the stuff she needed: food, drinks, paper plates, disposable utensils, cleaning supplies...but she also grabbed stuff she didn't need: chips, chocolate, cookies...  
She went over to Armin and paid for her things, but...as Armin was putting her things in a bag...  
'Do I really need those things? I came to get a more healthy lifestyle, I shouldn't need comfort food anymore...' Charlie thinks as she plays with the black ring on her right middle finger.  
"Uh...You know what? You guys can have the cookies and such, think of it as a reward for working so hard or something...just don't eat it all in one go, I don't take no for an answer." Charlie says without thinking.  
"B-But...O-Okay thanks a lot miss." Armin says bowing a bit.  
"Thank you" was all Mikasa said as she bowed.  
Eren walks up to Charlie and says: "Wow miss! Thank you, though I feel bad about earlier...and now this, we will make it up to you, right guys?"  
"Hm!" they all say and nod their heads in unison.  
'Note to self, don't just give random acts of kindness to teenagers in shops, they might make your heart explode' Charlie thinks while trying not to lose her cool on the outside.  
"Well..till next time guys." Charlie says grabbing her plastic shop bag and leaving while waving at them.

'I need to go to the specialist store soon for more permanent plates and stuff, but I'll definitely return here soon!' Charlie thinks as she walks back, a smile slowly creeping onto her face  
'Is my old self returning?' Charlie thinks, but suddenly her smile drops before it's even a smile.  
'No...she is in the past for a reason...this is the new Charlie... let's find out who she is.'  
She takes out a sandwich she bought out of her bag and starts eating it  
"The new Charlie still likes egg sandwiches, good..."

*********

Charlie finally arrives back home, this time after 6 minutes as she took her time instead of running.  
She enters her apartment and looks at the clock on her phone showing it is now 15:13.  
"I should unpack before it gets too dark or I get too tired-" *Meow*  
Charlie looks around trying to find the owner of the meow, before realizing it must be from the balcony. She opens the door leading to the balcony and sees a blond cat chilling on a chair. The cat notices Charlie and starts observing her.  
"Hey...uh, Kitty, you live around here or exploring?" She says smiling at the cat while slowly and gently putting her hand in front of it.  
The cat slowly comes closer, but not close enough to touch.  
"You know I used to have a cat, back home in the Netherlands. Well, not really. It was my brother's technically. That's why she couldn't come.  
Her name was Elisa. We were closer than he and she were weirdly enough, but I left to live here...I think she is the only thing which made me want to stay..." Charlie says looking a bit down but still smiling at the cat  
The cat finally decided to let her pet it and starts purring.  
"You're finally letting me stroke you pussy? I just arrived here, I'm Charlie Wright."

"Tch, you do realize that sounds very wrong out of context? No, you probably didn't...I'm Levi Ackerman, that's Farlan. A pleasure to meet you, Charlie Writhe" A male voice says nearly emotionless to the right of her.

Charlie recognized that 'Tch'.

She stops petting the cat and turns her head. She sees the man she saw earlier leaning on the balcony next to her, he still had the same clothes on, but no necklace...  
"P-Pleasure...Hehe...I thought I was alone, how long were you there?" Charlie asks nervously  
"Long enough...It was his usual feeding time, but I came out when he didn't come running in like usual...He usually doesn't like strangers. He seems to like you more than dinner." Levi says curiously looking at Farlan the cat who seems upset Charlie stopped petting him before jumping to Levi's balcony and entering the apartment to presumably eat the aforementioned dinner.

"I have a calming effect...only on animals, humans...not so much..." Charlie says turning red from embarrassed at the thought of Levi hearing her tell her sob story to his cat.  
"Hmm maybe...so you are from the Netherlands huh, why come here and leave Elisa?" Levi asked curious about the girl who tamed the cat who would normally hiss at the sight of a stranger.  
He starts leaning on the balcony railing preparing for a long story.

Charlie seemed to forget the embarrassment she felt seconds ago as her face is filled with an indecipherable expression due to her looking down, which made her bangs cover her eyes.

"...I needed to go far away, that's all I'll say for now..." She says softly, but loud enough for Levi to hear.

Levi didn't foresee that.  
He started thinking of all the reasons that would make a girl move halfway across the world, but there were hundreds. Though the way she said it made it sound like it was awful.  
Family trouble? Loss? Self-reflection? Spiritual guidance? Afraid of something? Whatever it was it was clear she wouldn't say why any time soon.

"...Fine, be mysterious...I'm just a nosy neighbor right?" Levi says trying not to show himself caring, pushing himself off the railing, and proceeds to put his right hand in his pants pocket

"S-Sorry...I didn't mean to come off as rude, it's a sore subject is all..." Charlie says being embarrassed again.

Levi leans over to look into her apartment.  
"Tch, you out talking with me and my cat while you are still busy unpacking...that old woman moved out 3 weeks ago and no one cleaned it during that time...didn't you see the dust? *Sigh*." He says as he goes back into his apartment.  
Charlie stands there confused, did he just leave after telling her the apartment was dirty and messy?  
"And I thought we were bonding. Guess my first impression was correct?" She says out loud as she enters back into her apartment.  
"Though he is right, I guess I didn't notice the mess due to me being distracted." She says wiping some dust off the counter.

*RING RING RING!*

"Huh, was I expecting someone? No that's not possible." She asks, and answers herself, as she walks towards the door.  
She opens it and sees Levi dressed in a cleaning getup with a bunch of cleaning supplies in one hand and another cleaning outfit in his other hand.  
"This is not sorry or a welcome to the neighborhood gift, got it? I just can't stand the thought of anyone living in this filth. Put this on and take this, no objections." he says handing her the outfit and a broom  
'Correction he is a distant, cold, AND a clean freak...but I guess I can't refuse someone helping me clean, though it feels like I'm helping him clean...' Charlie thinks as she puts on the outfit and starts cleaning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I will slowly update (every few weeks) and edit as I have a stressful life, but quality over quantity right?  
> Also, this is my first AU story, so sorry for any cultural inaccuracies


End file.
